Not Always the Best
by 14karatgold
Summary: She may not be his biggest fan, but everyone else is gone... They're all they have left, and it'll have to do. TidusYuna eventually, as well as various other pairings.
1. Chapter 1: Losers

Not Always the Best

Summary- Two schools. One takes all of the talented blitzers, artists, musicians, and straight-A-students. The other school keeps the dejected ones. With a father that's ashamed of you, and your friends gone, what happens when you're the one left behind?

Rated T for various reasons. Drama/Romance.

Disclaimer- None of this is mine to own. All rights go to Square.

Chapter 1  
**Losers**

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Tidus slammed his locker door shut, a loud clanging noise resonating around the room. His teammates stared at him as he placed his wet forehead on the cool metal and banged his fist into the locker beside him. Wakka waited a few seconds before reaching out to his best friend's shoulder, but even then, Tidus instantly shook it off.

"Man, it's alright, ya? This ain't nothin' new. You can't get too upset 'bout it, Ti."

"That's easy for you to say," Tidus choked out, tears burning behind his eyes. "When did you say you were transferring?" Wakka hesitated. "Don't insult me man. You and I both know you're a better blitzer than me. Good enough for Spira to request you." Still, Wakka was silent. "You forget that they took my brother? This isn't the first time I've dealt with disappointment."

With an attempt at calm conviction, Tidus pushed himself away from his locker and walked out, giving Wakka a wide berth and never once looking at the rest of his team.

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"You think I should go cheer Tidus up?" Rikku asked of her cousin, as soon as the door leading to the locker room swung shut, a stiff Tidus striding away from it. Yuna pursed her lips and fiddled a bit with the embouchure of her flute before answering, her distrust and dislike of the boy evident with every word.

"I think you should go get out of that uniform and go home. Let him cool off."

"Yunie!" Rikku pressed her cousin.

"You don't need my permission to do anything Rikku. I just don't like anything about him. I don't trust him to take care of you. I honestly don't know what you see in him," Yuna said, still watching his retreating back slowly being enveloped by the night as he left the light of the stadium.

"But Yunie…" Rikku whined, tugging at the hem of her cheerleader's skirt.

"Look, I'm going to go get out of this disastrous uniform, then go home and go to bed. I'd suggest that you do the same. You can call Tidus anytime tomorrow. He probably won't want to be disturbed tonight, and I think you'll only be in danger if you're the one to disturb him."

"Yuna, he's not like that. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"However many times we lose a blitzball game. Or any game for that matter."

"Ooooh. That's a big number…" Rikku said, a look of awe coming over her face.

"Exactly. That's why you shouldn't go to Tidus tonight. He gets violent when we lose." And Yuna walked away, back towards the band room of their high school, the busses of the opposing team breezing past her as she did so. Their cheers could be heard for a long time.

They had lost 21-0.

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Okay, perhaps not the most exciting chapter I've ever written, but it introduces their situation a little, and the characters' relationships to one another, and that was my main objective. Please, tell me how you think I did.

Thanks for reading,

KT


	2. Chapter 2: Pity

Chapter 2

**Pity**

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Tidus heard someone approaching him from the left. It was dark, and nights in Zanarkand weren't always the best time to be alone, but he wasn't at all afraid. In fact, he had been expecting this as soon as he left the locker room.

"Hey, sorry you lost," a voice shockingly similar to his own said quietly from his side.

"It's fine, Shuyin. I've gotten over it," Tidus grunted indifferently.

Shuyin snorted disbelievingly. "Yeah, sure you have," he said before stepping in front of his twin, cutting off his path.

"I'm not in the mood, Shu," Tidus said.

"Which is how I knew that you are definitely not over it."

"Yeah? So? What could I possibly do for you? What can your dreadful, embarrassing brother do for you? I'm not sure how you can even come to these games, or why you bother. We're never going to win! No way!" Tidus burst angrily.

"Oh Tidus, shut up," Shuyin hissed, rubbing his temples. "I came here to ask you if—"

"Here it comes…" Tidus muttered.

"—if you wanted me to help coach the team in my free time."

Tidus gave his brother a sardonic grin. "Yeah, let's think about that for a sec, shall we?" Shuyin was silent. "_You_ go to Zanarkand Spira High, which ultimately means you have no free time to spend with me. That's why you're never home, remember? _I_, on the other hand, go to Zanarkand Kitmen High, which means I suck. Got it?"

"Tidus, if you just had a decent coach, this would all work out. We could get you into Spira and you wouldn't have to deal with losing all the time. The team would get another good player, you would be with Wakka, and Dad would be able to look you in the face. What's so bad about that?" Shuyin fought back

"Which brings up another subject: Why didn't you wait to suggest this to me when we got home?" Tidus flared up, swinging the fervent conversation in yet another direction.

Shuyin paused. "I didn't think you would want to walk home alone." That was a lame response, and it was then that he knew he was going to lose this argument. Tidus was good. Shuyin considered applying him for Spira's debate team, but internally dismissed the idea instantly as irrelevant.

Tidus scoffed. "Come on, Shu. You're my twin. You know me better than that. You have this weird, creepy 'Spidey-Sense' that tells you when I want to be alone. No, the reason you didn't ask me this at home is because of Jecht."

"You really should stop calling him that. He is our father."

"I'll stop when he stops calling me 'boy.' He rarely acknowledges me when I'm in the room, and when he does, well... nevermind. You didn't dare talk to me about blitzball at home because you didn't want Jecht to hear you suggest it. Just the fact that you _have _to suggest it is shameful to him. He figured both of his sons would be brilliant blitzers—"

"I think he's right—"

"And I think you're wrong. Please Shuyin, just leave me alone." Tidus brushed his brother roughly aside and loped away.

Shuyin thought it smarter to let his brother walk away, even at night, than to try to stay with him in this state. He sighed in defeat as he flipped out his phone and pressed the number one.

"Hey, can you pick me up at Kitmen? I need to get home before Dad turns on the Sphere to watch the game. I can't let him see this."

"_Sure. Be there in a sec."_

"Thanks." He slowly closed the phone and slipped it into his jeans pocket, then traced Tidus's footsteps up from the stadium to the parking lot.

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"Hey Yuna!" Cid barked from the living room as Rikku shut the door behind herself and her cousin.

"Yes, Uncle?" she asked, smiling at Rikku as she handed off her jacket to her. She moved into the living room to find her uncle sprawled on the couch watching the first few minutes of their horrendous loss.

"Oh God, vydran," Rikku moaned as she flopped onto a recliner in the corner. "Why are you watching this? We can tell you exactly how it turned out."

"Yeah, we lost 21-0, how's that for a score? It probably went into the Guinness Book of World Records," Yuna groaned as she too threw herself into a chair.

Cid laughed, much to the chagrin of the two girls. "I know!" he chuckled. "They told us right before they began to play the game that it had been bad." He laughed again. "I just wanted to know how it happened!"

It may have been funny to him at first, but as he watched, the grin slowly slid off his face until he was no longer able to watch the utter massacre that was taking place right before his eyes. He pressed the Power button on the remote weakly, but the Sphere still got the signal.

"Slaughters like that should be illegal…" he muttered, staring off out the window. Both of the girls had 'I told ya so!' smirks on their faces, but they didn't feel any joy. "Wasn't that team supposed to be really bad too?" the cousins nodded. "And this was just the first game?" they nodded again. "Oh God."

There was an awkward silence.

"I'm gonna go make some food!" Rikku squealed suddenly.

Yuna's face scrunched up at the impossibly high pitch, before she too leapt up in search of something that would ease the pain of their loss.

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Shuyin stared sightlessly out of the front windshield as sporadic drops of water splashed onto it. He jumped as the wipers came on and smeared the water unevenly away.

"What's wrong?" whispered a small voice from his left. The wipers squeaked over the glass twice before Shuyin answered.

"I'm going to lose him, Lenne. If Spira accepts even one more of his friends, he'll go over the edge. Not to mention Dad. He already drinks more than could possibly be healthy." He sighed. "There has to be something I can do."

The car was silent, save but for the occasional squeaking of the glass.

"So you let him walk home by himself? Was that smart?" she asked him, never once taking her eyes off the road.

"Maybe not, but—wait. Wait! That's him!" Shuyin hissed, pointing down the road some thirty or forty yards. "Hang back. He'll recognize the car."

"Don't we want him too?" she asked, incredulous.

"No. Not while he's like this."

"You sure? This _is _Zanarkand. People just don't walk around by themselves, and anyone who does has already written a suicide note. … He hasn't written a suicide note has he?"

"No."

"Well, sue me then. Apparently I don't know anything." Shuyin grinned, but kept his eyes fixed on the slouching figure in front of them.

His mind began to wander as the minutes drifted by unnoticed, but then his eyes twitched at an unexpected movement in the shadows beyond his twin. He motioned to Lenne to stop the car and shut off the lights. He watched as a group surrounded his brother. They seemed to talk calmly for a while, and the worried pounding in Shuyin's heart lessened, but didn't abate completely. The leisurely chat soon escalated into wild gesticulations and gaping mouths.

Shuyin could see Tidus—he was in the spotlight of a streetlamp—but he could only see vague outlines of the group. There seemed to be five of them… or no… maybe it was seven. Shuyin couldn't tell, but what he could tell, was that the conversation was getting more heated by the second.

He tapped Lenne on the shoulder, gaining her attention. He pointed to himself, then to the street outside. He didn't know why he felt as though he it was important to be quiet, but it was. She shook her head violently, and she latched onto his arm.

He didn't have time. The group was moving in menacingly around Tidus, a cowardly five (or seven) to one.

Before she could stop him, he threw open the door. Her grip on him loosened as the light on the roof of the car came to life, blinding her, but as soon as it came, it went, and Shuyin was already halfway to the scene of the beating.

"Hey!" he yelled as he approached. Now, he realized, most of them looked really scrawny, except one. There was no denying it now. There were five. Five scrawny boys (well, four, and a fat one) surrounding a shuddering mass on the pavement. "Hey!" he screamed again, outraged. "I could take all of you! Either show your faces to me like men or get out of here before _I kill you all!"_

They didn't move.

In fact, they began to approach him. Slowly and cautiously at first, but as their confidence grew, so did their strides. It was then that it occurred to Shuyin that he too was outnumbered five to one, and though he thought he could handle four of them, the fat one was making him nervous.

When they got close enough, Shuyin launched a surprise attack on the one nearest him, landing a hard punch square in the jaw, and the kid fell instantly.

_Now it's four to one. Not bad…_Shuyin thought.

But as soon as it happened, the others grabbed him and barely held him with all of their combined strength. "Get off me!" he bellowed, twisting so violently that the kid on his left nearly lost his grip, but it wasn't enough. The fat one was rounding on him.

"That rat brother of yours needs to learn when to take orders from someone else. I can see that it runs in the family."

"Yeah. If that's the case, does pig fat run in yours?" Shuyin asked innocently.

"Look, you're outnumbered, and you have no one to back you up, or even to witness as you get turned into a bloody pulp, and then we can resume torturing your lazy ass brother," the fat one said, with an almost nonchalant edge to his voice.

"Well, I'm glad you learned something in school, even though the size of your head doesn't account for it."

"Shuyin Lang, you need to know when to lose gracefully," the fat kid said with a touch of enjoyment lacing his tone.

Shuyin struggled against his captors again, more aggressively than before and had almost wrenched himself away from the hands binding him when he became the one with a smashed jaw. "What!" he screamed. "You need to have your four buddies holding onto me just so you can hit me? Awww. Is the little chubby baby fwightened?" he cooed sadistically. "Hit me like you mean it, fat boy! Be a man!"

The kid's silhouette began to shake, and Shuyin could feel the others moving away from him. "Let's just settle this right here." He tried to prepare himself for the oncoming fight, but before he could, another hard, but flabby fist slammed into the side of his head. "Bastard!" he yelled. "You can't even be bothered to give a fair fight? Oh! Wait! That's right! It's because you know that a fair fight with me wouldn't be fair!" The next blow knocked him down.

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K,

That's it. Kudos to you if you can figure out who did it, but don't tell me your guesses. And it's not who you think it is.

Cheers!  
kt


	3. Chapter 3: Friday Night Lights

Chapter 3

**Friday Night Lights**

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Little white lights danced in front of Shuyin's vision excitedly, but he barely noticed. One of his ears was ringing, his left nostril was bleeding, and his jaw ached, and yet Shuyin comprehended none of it. All he could feel was the pavement under his body, the rumbling of approaching people, and the shame of his own crumbling pride.

A large, strong hand grasped the collar of his shirt, and forced him to look up into the darkened face of this persistent son of a bitch. Shuyin blinked rapidly, chasing the little lights away, so he could possibly see his assailant. "You listen to me, Lang. We are going to take over and crush him. And the best part is, he wont be able to fight back. Ha! So much for 'Strong, Wonderful Tidus and his Amazing Brother.' He knows who we are, and he can't do anything about it. Just wait. You'll realize what powerlessness is in the end." He released Shuyin, allowing the blonde's head to smack the ground again. He aimed a final kick—

But right as he was about to let it fly, blinding headlights seared into the scene, and a car's engine roared to life as it screeched towards them, swerving around the huddled masses that were Tidus and Shuyin. Shuyin watched their reactions carefully through squinted eyelids, almost half expecting them to move on the car.

They chose to run. Shuyin saw their feet scattering away in all directions, no leadership, and almost running into one another. This scene gave Shuyin a sad analogy to Tidus' blitz team.

But Shuyin was not sad. He was downright pissed.

He forced himself to his feet, causing more white lights to temporarily envelop all sight. He ignored the pounding in his head and bit his lip as he stumbled to his brother's side, fortunate enough to find him unconscious, but breathing. There was a welt forming on his cheek, and blood seeping from his head where whacked the road, but other than that, he seemed just fine.

Sarcasm.

Tidus was not fine, and Shuyin was going to see to it that his oath to the cowards wouldn't be broken. He'd chase them all down with every waking moment if he had to—

But right now, Tidus needed to get home. Shuyin smacked him lightly on the cheek and shook him until his twin's eyes fluttered. Relieved, he helped his brother to his feet and guided him to the awaiting car, ears still echoing the recent scream of the tires.

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Lenne drove while Shuyin stayed in the backseat with Tidus, trying to keep the both of them awake.

"You can't sleep, Tidus. That blow to your head doesn't look so good. We need to get it checked out. _No! _You can't fall asleep!"

"We're almost there," Lenne whispered from the front seat. "I'll call Rikku when we get there."

Tidus muttered something in his half-blacked out state.

"What?" Shuyin said carefully.

"No," Tidus repeated, but his lips didn't move and his head was sagging onto his chest. Shuyin couldn't be sure that his brother hadn't fallen asleep and was now sleep talking.

"Do you think he's asleep?" Shuyin asked of Lenne.

"No, I am not asleep, and no, you cannot call Rikku," Tidus murmured, his voice slightly stronger and clearer.

"But—"

"I said no!" he shouted suddenly. "I have no wish for her to see more of my shame than she already has. She's probably had her fill of that for one night. She doesn't need to know that I was beaten up by…some kids. She can find that out tomorrow."

"Who was it, Tidus? They said you knew who they were, but I couldn't see them. Who were they?"

"Just…some kids from school."

"Now, I know your lying."

"No. I'm telling the truth. They're kids from school."

"Tidus, there are thousands of kids at Kitmen. These five must have had some tie to you. They can't be just kids that were pissed off after the game."

"Actually, they were just that. Just some kids that were pissed after we lost and came to find me."

"And they just _happened _upon you in the middle of some random alleyway?"

"Sure."

"I don't buy it, Tidus," Lenne said from the front as she pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked the car. "You've lost before. Why would just some random group of kids come after you after this particular loss? It wouldn't be anyone from the other team. It would have to be someone at Kitmen, that's for certain, but they have to have had more of a tie to you than just 'some kids from school.' I don't buy it Tidus. You can lie all you want, but you're protecting nothing, not even your pride."

Tidus stared at her as she got out of the car and walked away towards the hospital, silently forcing the two boys to follow, which they did.

"I can see why you fell for her," Tidus said to his brother in awe, temporarily forgetting about the night's events.

"Yeah, well, she still hasn't fallen for me," Shuyin sighed resignedly. "And why would she? I've been like a brother to her for our whole lives! How could she come to think of me as anything more?" he helped Tidus out of the car and shifted his weight onto him before slamming the door shut.

As they hobbled to the hospital entrance where Lenne had just entered, Tidus said unhelpfully, "Yeah, well, I guess we all have our problems."

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Wakka trundled around his living room with a scowl on his face. "Those bastards!" he hissed venomously into the silence. "I can't believe them!"

"Can't believe who?" asked Lulu from the recliner in the corner. She was curled up in it with a book in her hand and thin reading glasses perched on her nose. Wakka started. He'd had no idea she was there when he walked in.

"Oh. Hey Lu. Nobody."

"Mmhmm. You're lying. Really. You were referring to them, and so therefore they have to exist. So who are they?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. Just some kids that ganged up on Tidus on his way home from the game tonight."

"Oh. They got into his car?"

"He walked."

"Oh. Well, then this is partially his fault, and partially those who did it to him. Do you know who they are?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me?"

"No."

"I thought not." And she returned to her book without further ado. Taken aback, Wakka slouched to his room. "Stop slouching!" she yelled from behind him. He looked back at her, but she was still focused on her book.

"How does she _know_?" he whispered to himself.

"I just do," she answered. "Shouldn't you be going to see him?"

"I'm the last person he'll want to see tonight. The absolute last," he said sadly, and began walking again. He kept the corner of his eye on her the whole way to his door.

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Rikku was fast asleep in the bed parallel to hers, but in contrast, Yuna was wide awake. She couldn't forget the look of utter despair on Tidus' face as stormed away from them earlier that night. Totally distraught. Was it just the game that had done that to him? Or was there something else? Yuna vaguely recalled Wakka telling her that he was transferring to Spira, but that couldn't be it, could it? Was Tidus really so shallow that he would hate his best friend for his achievement? Yuna wanted to believe it, but couldn't for whatever reason. There had to be something else that bothered him, but she didn't know why she was losing her sleep over it. She didn't really care.

Just as she turned over onto her side, away from Rikku, Rikku's phone buzzed on the bedside table between them. Unable to shake the irritating feeling that this was something important, Yuna threw herself over and reached for Rikkus' phone before opening it and seeing that she had just received an extremely long text. It read:

Rikku.

I'm pretty sure you're asleep by now, which is good, because I'm not supposed to tell you this. I don't know why, but Tidus was hit by a gang or something on the way home from the game. He's at the hospital now for a head wound and some other things. He told me not to tell you (some such nonsense about "She's been shamed enough for one night"), but I couldn't leave you out of the loop. You'll get this in the morning, and rush over first thing, no doubt. See you then.

3 Lenne 3

Yuna sat up stark-straight and bit her lip. Should she wake up Rikku? Rikku would know the text had been read whenever she woke up, and then Yuna would be in real trouble. She wasn't afraid of Tidus, but she was definitely afraid of her cousin.

She gnawed on her lip until she tasted blood, and then decided.

She poked Rikku several times right between the eyes.

"Shoo fly, don't bother me," Rikku muttered, listlessly swatting at Yuna's hand.

"Rikku, wake up! You have a text!"

"I'm sleeping, Yuna. You should be too."

"It's about Tidus." This made Rikku blink a little. "He's been attacked." This made Rikku sit up so fast she almost slammed her head into Yuna's.

"Holy shit!" and she was up and dressed before Yuna could say anything else.

Within ten minutes, the two of them were in the car and going sixty towards the hospital.

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Well? Should I keep going? Tell me what's on your mind!

Thanks.

kt


	4. Chapter 4: Speeding Along

Chapter 4

**Speeding Along**

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"Rikku, did you even bother to read the damn thing?" Yuna asked, angered slightly that her cousin had dragged her along, but at the same time she wanted to be there to provide some comfort. She couldn't decide, but she definitely wasn't going in order to see Tidus, _that _much was certain.

"I don't need to. You don't get it, do you Yuna? More than just my boyfriend, he's my probably my best—besides you—and _oldest _friend. If he's in trouble, I have to be there, no matter what.

"I still don't get what you see in him, as a friend _or_ a boyfriend. I mean, he's so arrogant and egotistical! He's never happy when someone else gets what they want, unless he can get it too, or haven't you noticed? The kid has more than enough money to get by in the world, and yet he can't once be happy, or even content! Doesn't that seem a little self-centered to you?" Yuna insisted.

"Money doesn't buy happiness, Yuna. You of all people should know that."

Silenced, Yuna fell back into her seat and watched the dark, dingy streets wiz by under the orange glow of periodic streetlamps. Rikku, finding some sort of vindictive pleasure in her cousin's silence, set her jaw and accelerated through a yellow light, vaguely aware of her cell phone lying open on the dashboard.

She was angry with Tidus for getting himself hurt at this time of night; she was angry with Yuna for being so narrow-minded; she was angry with herself for the letter she had received this morning.

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"Doc, I'm fine," he insisted. "Yeah, my head hurts a little and so does my hand, but other than that I feel perfectly normal." Actually, he thought he may have cracked a rib or two as well as broken a finger, and was fairly certain that he had a slight concussion, but he really hated hospitals. Being stuck in the tiniest box wouldn't make him feel as claustrophobic as he did right then.

Oh, how hehated hospitals.

"Shuyin, don't argue with the man. He's just trying to help," Lenne chided, though secretly sick out of her mind with worry over the two boys.

"I tell you! All through history people have dealt with tiny injuries like this. I'm not going to die!"

"Perhaps not, but that cracked rib of yours looks fairly serious," the doctor said.

"Damn," Shuyin muttered. He hadn't even gotten an X-Ray—how did this guy _know_? Shuyin didn't even bother to speculate, he was so freaked out.

Oh, how he _really _hated hospitals. And doctors. Definitely doctors.

"No! Let me out of here!" he yelled, throwing frightened eyes to Lenne who showed no signs of moving to help him. Several doctors and nurses crowded around him, forcing some sedative into his tense and adrenaline-saturated body. He looked to Lenne once more, who was just shaking her head exasperatedly as she turned to leave.

Of all the things to be afraid of, Shuyin noted in his rapidly dulling state, hospitals were definitely a stupid one. Maybe _that's _why she didn't like him. The idea made sense to his foggy mind, but in reality it was ridiculous. It didn't matter though—he was almost completely asleep and would have no recollection of the thought when he awoke.

Unbeknownst to him, the doctors were already to work, setting his fractures bones and mending his external injuries as best they could.

Those ribs though…

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Lenne threw herself down into a chair down in the commissary and sipped her chai anxiously. Why had Shuyin been so stupid? The logical thing to do would have just been to drive up to Tidus in the car, but _noooo. _Shuyin just _had _to get out and try to play the hero. Look where _that _had gotten him.

He and Tidus were in separate wards, but Tidus by far had been the easier one to handle—he'd been out before they walked through the door.

Lenne put her head down onto the cool steel table and willed herself to fall asleep and—however temporarily—forget this mess. It didn't happen, of course, but that didn't stop her from trying.

After a few minutes of this fruitless attempt to leave the world (and her rapidly cooling chai) behind, she remembered that while she had left Rikku a message, she hadn't bothered to tell Wakka anything at all…

Irritated by her active mind, she reluctantly sat up and pulled out her phone. She dialed Lulu's number, knowing full well that _she _at least would be up for the next couple of hours. Whether or not _Wakka_ would be was a whole other matter unto itself.

"_Hello?_" Yup. Lulu was still up.

"Hey Lu. Is Wakka still up?"

"_No. He went to bed just a bit ago. Why?_"

"Well…uh…Tidus was attacked on the way home from the blitzball game. He's out cold right now, but I think he would appreciate it if it weren't just me by his bed when he wakes up. He's forbidden me to wake up Rikku, but I thought Wakka should at least be here."

"_Ah. Right. Well, Wakka's already heard about this._"

"What?" Lenne said incredulously. "How?"

"_I don't know. He just said, 'I'm probably the last person he wants to see right now,' and then went to bed. I don't know what he means, but we can always interrogate him in the morning._" Lulu seemed unsure about something, and Lenne noticed.

"Lulu, what's wrong?"

"_Oh, I was just thinking about what he said…I think he knows something, Lenne, but he's to ashamed of it to own up to it._" She scoffed. "_So Wakka._"

Lenne didn't know what to say. She just sat there, openmouthed and horrified.

So Wakka was in on it? How? _Why?_

Why would he do that to his best friend, especially when everything's going so well for him? Why would he do such a thing?

Now, after all these years of laughing and goofing off together, Lenne felt like she barely knew her friends at all. What was so different about it?

She asked herself this question, but she knew the answer already: Spira, the school that all kids in Zanarkand aspire to get into. A fitting name, too. It was even advertised on the sphere, as tacky as that seemed. It said, 'Spira: Aspire for greatness.'

A spire for greatness, indeed. There it was, a tower on the top of Mount Gagazet, in view of the whole city. Well, more accurately a _series_ of towers that looked like a single spire from far away.

It was a normal high school, like Kitmen, but it was good. It was _really _good, and it always requested its students, not the other way around. You got little choice in whether or not you wanted to go, once it summoned you. It was unlikely that you would have any idea that it was watching you—Spira just _knew, _and then sucked you in when you least expected it.It was always a surprise when you got the letter in the mail. It was an _honor_.

It had a population of its own, but frequently requested some of the over-achievers from Kitmen to add to its populace. It was a tiny school, compared to Kitmen, only carrying about five thousand kids, whereas Kitmen held just about the rest of Zanarkand's youthful population that hadn't already dropped out of school.

Filtered down from twenty-eight elementary schools across Zanarkand, Kitmen was the largest school in the country, but it was also the poorest. Many of its teachers were decent, but the school itself barely had enough funds to keep itself running. The school board had frequently considered splitting the school into two slightly smaller, more stable ones. They had the silly idea that this would decrease the dropout rate, but that was ridiculous.

What was more troublesome than the dropout rate was the pregnancy rate among the girls at the school. Many had abortions, and many more were among the dropouts, but a few stuck around to get their diplomas—a few, meaning about a thousand of the total ten thousand pregnant girls. As mentioned formerly, Kitmen was an unrealistically enormous, almost unsustainable school, made even more so by the day-care service it provided.

So yes. Spira was the likely cause of all of the strife Lenne's friends had recently become accustomed to. First, she and Shuyin had been summoned back in freshman year, then Lulu, Chappu and Gippal in sophomore year, and now Wakka.

Spira was ripping their friendships apart with little effort and no mercy. But, Lenne reflected sadly, the death of Wakka's brother Chappu couldn't be disregarded as a source either. That had definitely put strain on everyone, especially Lulu and Wakka, but also the rest of us that tried to comfort them.

Lenne was silent for such a stretch of time that Lulu eventually lost patience and just hung up. After that, it wasn't long before Lenne noticed the lack of sound on the other end and followed suit without a word. She brushed off her phone mindlessly, and put it back in her pocket before reaching for her now cold chai and taking a long drink from its spiced depths. Lifting and tipping the cup to her lips, she looked over the rim and choked.

Two very familiar figures were walking right past the commissary towards the Direction desk. Lenne chucked her half full cardboard cup of chai in the rubbish bin before sprinting towards the desk at full tilt.

Tidus would _so_ not be happy with her when he woke up.

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Tidus' Point of View

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I forced my eyes open just in time to see a very distressed Lenne looking down at me apologetically from the observation window with a frown marring her pretty face. I wondered vaguely what had her so bothered, and then _they _came through the glass door, and I groaned audibly.

"Lenne, I am going to _murder _you," I muttered, closing my eyes briefly in irritation.

"Actually, it's partially my fault," came a soft, bitter voice from above me. I opened my eyes once more to find a very pissed-off Yuna standing over me. She was normally a very down-to-earth, caring person, but once you got her worked up about something, _man _did she get mad. And besides that, she had never liked me, we just happened to hang out with the same people. "But when it comes down to it, the fault is all yours. Why in the _hell_ did you go out into the streets alone? That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard of you doing. This is Zanarkand, Tidus!"

"Yunie, shut your trap," Rikku ordered, and Yuna obeyed without even thinking about it, she was that irritated. "Tidus, don't go blaming Lenne. Blame yourself if you want anyone to blame—she's only ever cared about you. You knew I'd want to be here with you—don't _ever _let your pride get in the way of me. I respect it, but if you try to use it as a wall, I'll crush it without a second thought. You know this." Rikku was dangerous too. She'd proven that to me more than once. "Lenne," she snapped to the other girl, "where is everyone else? Why are we the only ones here?"

Lenne looked disturbed. "Wakka's asleep…"

"Wakka," I spat.

"What?" Yuna asked, turning once more in my direction.

_Geez. She's cute when she's just been roused out of bed. _Once I realized that this thought had just crossed my mind, I tensed. This was _Yuna. _She detests me with a passion! Besides, I'm with Rikku anyway…

And speak of the devil… "What do you mean?" Rikku asked in a tiny voice.

"Nothing," I shut out.

"Tidus, dammit, you know I don't warn a second time." _That's _why I always liked her. She's feisty. We'd been together for a while, but we'd been friends for way longer. Rikku and me go _way_ back. I guess that's what made us such an interesting couple.

"Dammit! Don't ignore me!" Oh yeah. Definitely interesting. She was one of those girls who wasn't afraid to speak her mind, no matter what anyone else thought. Her excuse: 'What's the point of brainstorming if no one puts out anything? _Some_one has to break the ice.'

"I wasn't. I'd just…rather not talk about it."

"But," Lenne tried to interrupt.

"No, Lenne. I'm tired. Take Rikku and Yuna to check on Shuyin. He can hardly be in any better shape than me. Go. I wanna get some decent sleep." As if to prove my point, I closed my eyes and turned my face away from them on the pillow.

"You can push us out now, Tidus," Rikku threatened, "but I'm so going to get you for it."

"I know. Just…do it in the morning, okay?"

"Deal. Sweet dreams." And they left me with nothing but a kiss from Rikku which lingered on my forehead until I drifted to sleep.

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_More soon, I swear! Please review. Give me anything you see that's wrong, or needs fixed, or is just inconsistent. Anything._

_Thanks!_

_kt_


	5. Chapter 5: Beneath the Surface

Chapter 5

**Beneath the Surface**

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Third Person

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Lenne led the other two silently to Shuyin's ward. Even Rikku had nothing to say.

Yuna gave her cousin a sidelong glance, feeling slightly guilty for having such a bad temper both in the car and in Tidus' room. She really hated excuses, but she hadn't been sleeping well lately.

No. That wasn't right.

She hadn't been sleeping _at all. _

Every time she closed her eyes she saw…flashes. There was no other way to describe them but as…flashes of light. They burned against her eyelids, usually accompanied by a pain in her heart that was too heavy for words. She just felt…so sad. She hadn't felt sadness like that since her father died ten years prior.

Why these…nightmares (for lack of a better term) were affecting her _now_ was beyond her. She couldn't recall ever having them before—it was just too weird and random. There didn't seem to be any meaning or cause for them at all.

Yuna shook herself, drawing the attention of both girls.

"Yunie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm alright."

"Liar. You know you shouldn't bother even _trying_ to lie to me anymore."

Yuna sighed and gave her cousin a tired smile. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"I've noticed," Rikku said, looking ahead once more—she'd just remembered how many things were bad to run into in a hospital.

"What?"

"Well, you're _always _up before me, which never used to happen. It's only started in the last couple of weeks. If I didn't know better, I'd say you haven't been sleeping at _all_."

"Yeah. How did you guys get here so fast?" Lenne asked, deciding she might as well jump in.

"Yunie saw that you'd sent me a text, and woke me up…. Yunie, how long were you in bed before Lenne's text came in?" Rikku wondered. Suspicion was building within her. Yuna was normally asleep as soon as she hit the sack—it was a family trait.

"Half an hour? An hour? I dunno. I wasn't really focusing on the time."

Rikku was positive now—something was wrong with Yuna. As much as she knew this was the truth, she didn't let on. "How long has it been like this? You _always _fall asleep quickly, and get up only when the alarm goes off."

"A few weeks, like you said."

"But you seem fine! A little grumpier, maybe," both girls smiled wryly, "but otherwise fine. Shouldn't you be dying of exhaustion by now?" Yuna hadn't thought of that. Why was it she could still function without getting any rest? Yuna was getting some heavy, creepy vibes here.

"Yes…"

It was then that Rikku realized she was hitting a brick wall: Yuna wouldn't admit anything, so what was the point? Rikku would have to do some investigating on her own…but right now, there were more pressing matters. This sobered her up at once.

"Uhm, guys? I thought maybe I should tell everyone at once, but I really need to get this off my chest now…" Yuna did a double take—Rikku could change subjects like no other.

"What?" she asked, fearing the uncertainty in Rikku's voice.

"Well, it's—"

"We're almost to the commissary. Let's get some coffee and we can talk all about it there," Lenne interrupted. Rikku gave her a look that said, "What the heck?" and Lenne shrugged. She had a suspicion that she knew where this was going…

She'd said something similar a few years back. She would never forget how she'd felt when she's said it, nor the looks on her friends' faces when she did.

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Lulu glanced up from her book, unable to concentrate on it any more.

She just couldn't shake the feeling that Wakka was hiding something, but _why _he would hide it was beyond her. He and Tidus had been friends since elementary school, when she, Yuna, Wakka, and Chappu had moved here from Besaid ten years prior.

Ten years.

Yeah, things had changed in those ten years, but surely not enough for this kind of betrayal between two inseparable friends! Surely not…

But how could she be so sure? The whole 'Spira' thing had their entire group of friends stressed out, whether from the workload or the worry that they would never be requested.

She knew that Wakka had worried himself sick multiple times over the fact that he may never get in.

"If I can't even get in there, how am I ever gonna get into a decent college and make something of myself?" he'd said.

That's what everyone said, more or less. Not everyone aspires to be a fast food worker, or a waitress for the rest of their life, though some do. Yeah, one could get into a college with just a diploma from Kitmen High, but not a really _good _college. The only universities that were really worth getting into in (the country of) Spira required diplomas from one of the Baccalaureate schools. Obviously, Spira High was one of those schools.

Lulu looked down at the summer reading assignment she held in her hands and wondered: Was it worth it?

She shook herself. Of course it was. She still had time to hang out with her friends—though perhaps not a lot of it—and with a Baccalaureate Diploma from Spira, she could make something out of her life that meant something. On top of that, most of her friends went to Spira anyway, so what truly was the difference?

But no matter how she tried to convince herself that it wasn't true, she knew what the difference was—not _all _of her friends were there, and in turn, they were growing apart.

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The three girls sat down at the same table that Lenne had occupied earlier with their coffees and sat in silence.

Yuna was grateful for the caffeine in her exhausted, though miraculously still-functioning system.

Rikku was sipping quietly on her coffee, looking for inspiration in its dark depths, but finding none. How would they take her news?

Lenne just sat, her mind blank and coffee untouched. She had the eerie feeling that something was incredibly wrong, and it wasn't just the unnatural silence around her.

_There! _She twitched her head towards a thoroughly unremarkable wall, and felt…something.

Yes. There was something definitely wrong, she decided. Now what was it?

And then a voice came over the PA system.

"_Miss_ _Lenne Taylor, please come to Ward 136." _

_That _was what she had been waiting for.

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_Haha. Yes. I know cliffhangers suck horribly. Believe me. I've tolerated my fair share. Bear with me. I hope to make it worth your while._

_Thanks!_

_kt_


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